Collapsible spiral dispensing container



Aug. 29, 1967 Filed May 4, 1965 COLLAPSIBLE SPIRAL DISPENSING CONTAINER c. c. OLSON 3,338,474

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l l I m1 INVENTOR.

%' z W ATTORNEYS Aug. 29, 1967 c. c. OLSON 3,338,474

COLLAPSIBLE SPIRAL DISPENSING CONTAINER Filed May 4, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /L l 7 //A I NVEN TOR.

$4M ATTORNEYS United States Patent G 3,338,474 COLLAPSIBLE SPIRAL DISPENSING CONTAINER Carl C. Olson, 3410 Milwaukee Ave., Northbrook, Ill. 60062 Filed May 4, 1965, Ser. No. 453,033 4 Claims. (Cl. 222-92) This invention relates to dispensing containers and more particularly to a collapsible dispensing container with an overlapping spiral wall.

Many different types of containers have been utilized in the prior art which collapse in one manner or another to dispense material contained therein. Generally, these type-s of dispensing containers are formed of a hollow collapsible tube containing the dispensing material. As in the usual toothpaste dispensing container, the tube is made of a soft metal, primarily tin, so that when one end of the tube is sealed, squeezing of the soft metal tube will cause the tube wall to collapse to dispense the toothpaste from the container. In order to dispense substantially all of the toothpaste when using such a container, it is necessary of course to completely collapse the tube. However, since the tube is made of a soft metal, numerous creases or cavities capture and enclose some of the toothpaste and prevent dispensing from the container. Such a dispensing container is not only wasteful but also unsightly as the tube is squeezed or twisted to its various intermediate collapsed positions.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a collapsible container for the dispensing of substantially all of the material contained therein.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a dis pensing container which maintains its basic structural form during dispensing of the material contained therein. A It is another object of this invention to provide a dispensing container having a spirally wound overlapping wall which is collapsible.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a sealed dispensing container which simultaneously opens and collapses to dispense material from within the container.

' It is a still further object of this invention to provide a dispensing container which has a deformable spout and a collapsing wall so that deforming the spout and simultaneously collapsing the wall dispenses material from within the container.

It is another object of this invention to provide a dispensing container with an inner collapsible container enclosing the dispensing material.

Other objects and advantages of this invention and a fuller understanding of the nature thereof may be had by refering to the claims and to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. i

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a preferred embodiment of a dispensing container accordingto the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional elevational view of the dispensing container of FIGURE 1 in the extended position. FIGURE 3 is a sectional elevational view of the dispensing container of FIGURE 1 in a fully collapsed position.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional elevational view of another embodiment of a dispensing container formed according to the present invention.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of an alternate wall construction.

' FIGURE 6 is a third embodiment of a dispensing container according to the present invention.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional View of an alternative deforming spout.

' In accordance with one of the aspects of this invention a dispensing container is formed of a single continuous strip of resilient material which is spiral wound or wrapped, thus forming a dispensing container with spiral overlapping wall sections. By sealing one end of this spiral wrap, and providing a spout at the other end, material within the container can be dispensed from the spout by moving one end closer to the other which collapses the spiral wrap. The end seal is shaped and precisely mounted in the container so that when the spiral wrap is completely collapsed, and the wall sections are entirely overlapping each other, practically all of the material formerly within the container will have been dispensed therefrom.

There can also be provided a normally closed deformable spout wherein deformation of the spout causes the contents to be dispensed by following the path of least resistance through the spout which simultaneously opens. In one form deforming the spout and simultaneously collapsing the spiral wall dispenses the contents. In another form, deforming the spout dispenses the contents with the subsequent collapsing of the wall admitting more of the contents to the spout. The container maintains itself in intermediate collapsed positions due to the slight frictional engagement between the overlapping wall sections.

Referring to FIGURE 1 there is illustrated a dispensing container 10 generally formed of a deformable spout 11, a collapsing wall 12, and a base 13. An actuating arm 14 is provided on the spout 11 to deform the spout and simultaneously open a mouth 15.

The details on the construction of the dispensing container 10 are clearly shown in the sectional views of FIGURES 2 and 3. FIGURE 2 shows the collapsing wall 12 being formed of a number of overlapping wall sections 16 which configuration i obtained by spirally wrapping or winding a continuous strip of resilient material such as manila paper, plastic, or metal in an overlapping arrangement from wrap 17 to wrap 18.

The resulting collapsing wall 12 defines a generally cylindrical chamber 19 in which there is located a collapsing bag 20 containing a quantity of dispensing material 21. The bag 20 has a closed end 22 which is situated near the end of the first wrap 17, that is, closed end 22 is located a distance from the base 13 equal to the height of one of the wall sections 16. The height of the wall sections 16 is of course determined by the Width dimension of the strip of resilient material forming the wall 12. An open end 23 of the bag 20 is located slightly above the last wrap 18.

It will be noted that the spout 11 contains a passage 24 which connects the bag open end 23 with the spout mouth 15 to lead the material 21 in the bag 20 out of the mouth 15 when the actuating arm 14 is depressed. The actuating arm 14 is spaced from a sloping face 25 by .a rib 26, as shown in FIGURE 1. The rib 26 narrows from a junction 27 of the actuating arm 14 and the sloping face 25, to a point 28 which is intermediate the position of the actuating arm 14 .and the mouth 15. Thus, depression of the actuating arm 14 toward the sloping face 25 causes a hinge effect at the rib 26 so that an upper lip 29 will move from a lower lip 30 of the mouth 15. The position of the actuating arm 14, the upper lip 29, and the lower lip 30, during depression of the actuating arm 14 is most clearly shown in FIGURE 3. The dispensing of the material 21 from the mouth 15 is achieved by depressing the arm 14 and simultaneously collapsing the wall 12 with a downward twisting motion. FIGURE 3 shows the dispensing container 10 in a fully collapsed position with the wall section 16 completely overlapping one another from wrap 17 to wrap 18.

The spout 11 is connected to the last wrap 18 by means i of a recess 31 into which the end of. the last wrap 18 is inserted and cemented. At the other end of the collapsing wall 12, the first wrap 17 is cemented to the base 13 along an exterior surface 32 of an integral platform 33 of the base 13. The platform 33 extends from one end of the base 13 to a floor 34 which is located immediately adjacent the bag closed end 22 near the end of the first wrap 17.

The floor 34 thus seals off one end of the collapsing wall 12 and is located with respect to the closed end 22 so that upon total collapse of the dispensing container practically all of the material 21 will be dispensed from the container.

Referring more particularly to FIGURE 3, the dispensing container 10 is shown in the fully collapsed position with the overlapping wall sections 16 overlapping each other as previously described. It may be noted that the floor 34 has driven the bag closed end 22 within the spout 11 and immediately adjacent the passage 24. The view of FIGURE 3 is of course enlarged so that details of the inner construction of the dispensing container 10 may be accurately shown and described. It will thus be appreciated that a dispensing container 10 made of proportionately smaller dimensions than that shown in FIGURE 3 would of course trap only a very slight amount of material 21 within the passage 24 or the very small uncollapsed portion of the bag 11. If desired, the floor 34 may be constructed in a somewhat dome form to match the sloping interior face 35 of the spout 11. In such a case, the sloping dome of the floor 34 would abut the face 35 when the dispensing container 10 Was in the position shown in FIGURE 3.

The bag open end 23 is formed by a sealing edge 36 of the bag 21) which is laid adjacent to and cemented to the sloping interior face 35 of the spout 11. The bag 20 is made of polyethylene or any other type of material which may be formed into a thin film tube, and in the collapsed form takes up a very slight amount of space within the dispensing container 10.

It is realized of course that the base 13 must be made wide enough so that a downward twist on the spout 11 will collapse the wall 12 and can be accomplished with a one hand operation, without any tendency for the dispensing container 10 to move beyond the perimeter of the base 13. The base 13 can be formed of plastic or other types of material which would have sufficient strength to react against the material 21 at the closed end 22 to drive the material 21 out of the mouth 15 as the dispensing container 10 is collapsed. During collapsing there may be a tendency for the wall sections 16 to move beyond the first wraps 17 and the base 13, and to prevent this from occurring there is formed a ledge 37 as an integral part of the base 13. This ledge 37 stops the wall sections 16 and stacks them in overlapping layers as shown in FIGURE 3. If desired, the base 13 may be formed with a sloping ramp which slopes from the platform 33 to the ledge 37 and matches the taper of the sloping face 35, so that some of the wall sections 16 will, in their completely collapsed position, occupy the space 38 in the bag to drive out from the mouth 15 any of the material 21 which may have been trapped therein.

An alternate embodiment of the dispensing container 10 is shown in FIGURE 4. This dispensing container 10 also has a collapsing wall 12 formed of spiral overlapping wall sections 16, a spout 39, and a base 40. The first wrap 41 is similarly cemented to the base 40, and the last wrap 42 is cemented to an interior surface 43, of the spout 39. The spout 39 also has a sloping face 44 to which is cemented the sealing edge 45 of the collapsing bag 46.

In this embodiment the base 40 is formed with a dome 47 having a sloping face 48 which matches the sloping face 44 of the spout 39 to fully dispense the material 21 within the bag 46 when the dispensing container of FIG- URE 4 is comp y coll psed.

The embodiments which have been previously described all contain an inner collapsible bag to contain the material for septic packaging. When septic conditions and viscosity of contents permit, the inner collapsible bag 20 may be discarded. In many applications, a collapsible type of dispenser may be used to dispense liquid or less viscous fluids. The wall construction for such an arrangement is shown in FIGURE 5. Overlapping spiral wound wall sections 49 are formed of a continuous strip 50 of resilient material similar to the wall sections 16 of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 2. Cemented to the strip 50 is a strip of sealing material 51 such as rubber, so that the sealing material 51 forms a seal between the overlapped strips 50. In such a configuration, the natural resiliency of the continuous strip 50 tends to compress the sealing material 51 against the adjacent overlapping strip 50 so as to form a seal between the wall sections 49.

FIGURE 6 illustrates another embodiment of the collapsible wall container and shows the use of the container for dispensing solid types of material. FIGURE 6 shows a dispensing container 52 having a collapsing wall 53 formed of resilient material in an overlapping spiral configuration similar to the arrangement of the embodiments shown in FIGURES 1-4. Within the dispensing container 52, and at the dispensing end 54, there is located a solid material 55, such as lipstick, which is to be dispensed. A sealing and supporting member 56 is attached by means of a number of prongs 57 to the solid material 55.

In the cutaway view of a portion of the sealing and supporting member 56, there is shown a rivet 57 which connects the first wrap 58 to the member 56. This arrangement is necessary to provide a pivoting connection between the last wrap 58 and the member 56 to prevent the wraps forming the wall 53 from disengaging with each other. If this occurred it would cause unsightly bulges in the collapsing wall 53, and also allow unwanted matter from entering the dispensing container 52. Thus, when the dispensing container 52 is collapsed, the connection made by the rivet 57 allows the last wrap 58 to pivot at the connecting points with the sealing and supporting member 56 and therefore allows the collapsing wall 53 to maintain its true taper form in the new position.

At the dispensing end 54, an end piece 59 has an exterior gripping surface 60 which engages the last wrap 61. Pivotal engagement is accomplished by forcing a hole 62 through the last wrap 61 and the surface 60 to form a spreading lip 63 from the material of the last wrap 61 which engages the end piece 59 at the gripping surface 60. The end piece 59 is also provided with a guiding surface 64 and a pocket 65. As the sealing and supporting member 56- is radially twisted in a direction to ease circumferential engagement of the collapsing wall 53, and moved towards the dispensing end 54, the solid dispensing material 55 exits from the dispensing container 52 guided by the surface 64, and the collapsing wall 53 collects and stacks within the pocket 65. A cap 66 may be placed over the end piece 59 to cover the dispensing end 54. This cap 66 must of course be first removed before the dispensing of material 55 can occur.

A corrugated sleeve 67 is cemented or otherwise fastened to one end of the member 56 to provide a positive grip in moving the sealing member 56 toward the dispensing end 54 or in moving the end piece 59 towards the sleeve 67. The collapsing wall 53 is made of resilient material, such as spring steel to provide a very resilient and yet firm collapsing wall for the dispensing container 52. However, other types of material could also be used which exhibit the firm resiliency required such as brass, aluminum, or combinations of such metals.

Referring now to FIGURE 7 there is illustrated an alternate deformable spout 68 which may be utilized instead of the spout 11 shown in FIGURES l-3, it being understood that the last wrap of a collapsing wall is cemented or otherwise secured to a sealing surface 69 beneath a ridge 70.

5 The spout 68 is formed with a thin deformable wall 71, an arm 72 to exert pressure on the wall 71 so as to deform the wall in the manner shown, and a mouth 73.

A passage 74 links the mouth 7'3 to an inside wall 75 of the spout 68. In the dispensing position of FIGURE 7, the arm 72 has been depressed to deform the thin wall 71, permitting the hydraulic law of equal force distributed throughout the viscous contents and against the walls 75 to search out the mouth 73 via the passage 74 which offers the path of least resistance. After dispensing all the contents from the spout space 76 contained in the deformed portion, the deformable Wall 71 will assume its previously undeformed position.

The collapsible wall, such as the wall 12, is then collapsed an amount to perm-it another portion of material to fill the spout space 76 and the spout 68 is ready to again dispense the contents upon deforming the wall 71. It may be noted that an air seal is maintained by the contents filling the passage 74; and by virtue of the partial vacuum created when the wall '71 returns to its original shape, the effort required to collapse the container wall is somewhat eased.

Although the drawings and specification present a detailed disclosure of preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific form disclosed, but covers all modifications, changes, and alternative construction falling Within the scope of the principles taught by the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A collapsible dispensing container for dispensing material contained therein comprising:

(a) a substantially cylindrical spiral wall having a continuous wrap forming overlapping wall sections and defining a material chamber, said wrap presenting an increase in diameter when collapsed;

(b) a resilient sealing strip attached to said continuous strip to seal said overlapping wall sections, the resilience of said sealing strip being sufiicient to compensate for said increase;

(c) a dispensing spout attached to one end of said cylindrical wall and communicating with said material chamber; and

(d) means for sealing the other end of said cylindrical wall to thereby dispense a desired amount of material from said spout as said wall is collapsed by moving said wall sections in greater overlapping relation to each other.

2. A collapsible dispensing container for dispensing material contained therein comprising:

(a) a substantially cylindrical spiral wall having a continuous wrap forming overlapping wall sections and defining a material chamber;

(b) means for sealing one end of said spiral wall;

() an end piece having integral exterior and interior portions, said interior portion adapted to guide the material within said chamber at the other end of said spiral wall; and

(d) means interconnecting the other end of said spiral wall to the exterior portion of said end piece to provide a pivoting connection therebetween as the two ends of said spiral wrap are moved to an abutting relation, said exterior and interior portions of said end piece forming a pocket for receiving the collapsed portion of said spiral wall.

6 3. A collapsible dispensing container for dispensing material contained therein comprising:

(a) a substantially cylindrical spiral wall having a continuous resilient metal wrap forming overlapping wall sections and defining a material chamber;

('b) an end piece having integral exterior and interior portions, said interior portion having a smooth surface to guide the material within said chamber, and said exterior and interior portions defining a pocket therebetween;

(c) first pivot means interconnecting the last metal wrap at one end of said spiral wall to the exterior portion of said end piece to provide a pivoting connec tion therebetween;

(d) a cap operatively associated with the exterior portion of said end piece to enclose said material chamber;

(e) a member within said cylindrical spiral wall and having an end secured to said material; and

(f) second pivot means interconnecting the last metal Wrap at the other end of said spiral wall to said member to provide a pivoting connection therebetween as the spiral wall is collapsed within said pocket to dispense the material from the uncapped end piece.

4. A collapsible dispensing container for dispensing material contained therein comprising:

(a) a substantially cylindrical spiral wall having a continuous resilient metal wrap forming overlapping wall sections and defining a material chamber;

(b) an end piece having integral exterior and interior portions, said interior portion having a smooth surface to guide the material within said chamber, and said exterior and interior portions defining a pocket therebetween;

(c) first pivot means interconnecting the last metal wrap at one end of said spiral wall to the exterior portion of said end piece to provide a pivoting connection therebetween;

(d) a member within said cylindrical spiral wall and having an end secured to said material; and

(e) second pivot means interconnecting the last metal wrap at the other end of said spiral wall to said member to provide a pivoting connection therebetween as the spiral wall is collapsed within said pocket to dispense the material from the uncapped end piece.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 687,790 12/1901 Scales 222-92 1,049,199 -12/ 1912 \Bowman 220-8 1,270,462 6/191-8 Thueringer 220--8 1,930,037 10/1933 'Br-ubaker 22295 X 2,263,632 11/ 1941- Kendall 2208 2,608,320 8/1952 Harrison ZZZ-95 2,720,881 10/ 1955 Jones 222- 490 X 2,758,755 8/1956 Schafler 222-490 X 3,157,322 1'1/1964 Bernhardt 222490 X FOREIGN PATENTS 324,451 2/ 1935 Italy.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

HADD S. LANE, Examiner, 

1. A COLLAPSIBLE DISPENSING CONTAINER FOR DISPENSING MATERIAL CONTAINED THEREIN COMPRISING: (A) A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL SPIRAL WALL HAVING A CONTINUOUS WRAP FORMING OVERLAPPING WALL SECTIONS AND DEFINING A MATERIAL CHAMBER, SAID WRAP PRESENTING AN INCREASE IN DIAMETER WHEN COLLAPSED; (B) A RESILIENT SEALING STRIP ATTACHED TO SAID CONTINUOUS STRIP TO SEAL SAID OVERLAPPING WALL SECTIONS, THE RESILIENCE OF SAID SEALING STRIP BEING SUFFICIENT TO COMPENSATE FOR SAID INCREASE; (C) A DISPENSING SPOUT ATTACHED TO ONE END OF SAID CYLINDRICAL WALL AND COMMUNICATION WITH SAID MATERAIL CHAMBER; AND (D) MEANS FOR SEALING THE OTHER END OF SAID CYLINDERICAL WALL TO THEREBY DISPENSE A DESIRED AMOUNT OF MATERIAL FROM SAID SPOUT AS SAID WALL IS COLLAPSED BY MOVING SAID WALL SECTIONS IN GREATER OVERLAPPING RELATION TO EACH OTHER. 